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Cherbourg
If the murky metropolis of Cherbourg is your port of arrival, it's best to head straight out and on: despite some busy pedestrian streets and lively bars, the town itself lacks anything of substantial interest, and there are some much more appealing places within a very few kilometres to either side. Napoléon inaugurated the transformation of what had been a rather poor, but perfectly situated, natural harbour into a major transatlantic port, by means of massive artificial breakwaters. An equestrian statue commemorates his boast that in Cherbourg he would "recreate the wonders of Egypt", though there are as yet no pyramids nearer than the Louvre.
If you are waiting for a boat, the best way of filling time is to settle into a café or restaurant or do some last-minute shopping. Don't, however, leave your food shopping for the town. Unless you hit the Thursday market , held around rue des Halles, your best bets for shopping are the Auchan hypermarket at the junction of RN13 and N13, south of town, or the Carrefour, on the southeast corner of the Bassin du Commerce.
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